This course covers the development of self-driving cars, the current state of the technology, safety issues, and the need for social discussion. It will focus on the challenges needed to fully commercialize autonomous vehicles.
In the year 2030, Mr. Cheoljoo Kim, who works for OO, gets into his self-driving car to go to work. As the car drives to work, Cheolsoo takes notes and prepares for a meeting presentation. After checking the navigation system, he realizes that the car is driving on a different route than usual, but he gets back to work on his presentation. After finishing his presentation, he takes a short nap to relieve his fatigue and wakes up in front of his company. In 2030, self-driving cars allow him to take notes and sleep while driving.
In 2024, the world is in a race to develop autonomous vehicles. Not only automakers like Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Tesla, but also tech companies like Google, Apple, and Nvidia, which specialize in graphics processing units, are actively developing technologies related to autonomous vehicles. Each company is developing autonomous driving technologies that utilize information processing technology to enable cars to understand their surroundings, calculate driving routes, and arrive at their destinations safely and quickly.
The core of autonomous driving technology is the ability to recognize the situation around the car. For this purpose, perception technology using sensors and graphic processing devices is being developed and installed in autonomous vehicles. Sensor-based perception technology uses multiple sensors on the car to detect obstacles around the car, allowing the car to accurately understand the situation. The key to sensor-based technology is to reduce blind spots by utilizing various sensor equipment. On the other hand, technology that uses a graphics processing unit analyzes images obtained from a camera attached to the vehicle with an image processor to understand the environment in which the car is placed. The camera acts like a human eye and the processor acts like a brain, and big data and machine learning make image analysis possible.
Although autonomous vehicles are being developed with various technologies, they are not yet fully autonomous. Currently, commercially available autonomous driving technology is only capable of staying in its lane on the road and traveling with the flow of traffic. However, as the technology continues to develop, we could soon have fully autonomous cars that don’t need a driver, like the ones in Minority Report and I, Robot. This will make it possible to work, read books, watch movies, and other activities while in the car, transforming the car into an office or a place to relax rather than a place for tiring driving.
However, there are still many issues that need to be addressed before full autonomy is achieved. As a new technology, autonomous driving requires a clear social discussion and enactment of laws and regulations. In the event of a traffic accident with a self-driving car, who will be the perpetrator? Is it always the human driver because the machine is unlikely to malfunction unless it breaks down? Or should the probability of machine malfunction be taken into account to determine the culprit? If self-driving cars are allowed to drive on the roads without discussing these issues, society will be embroiled in many debates.
It is also essential to verify the safety of autonomous vehicles. This is because it is directly related to the safety of human occupants. In fact, there was a recent incident where a Tesla car traveling with autonomous driving features enabled collided with a tractor-trailer, killing the driver. Google’s self-driving car, Google Car, also ran a red light at an intersection and failed to avoid colliding with a car that was going straight. If we blindly trust autonomous driving technology that is not perfect, it may not be able to avoid accidents that are completely avoidable by humans, and the social losses will be enormous.
Governments and companies in various countries are discussing how to solve this problem. Among them, the United States, one of the world’s largest automobile markets, has been impressive. In June 2011, Nevada became the first state in the world to allow autonomous vehicles to drive, and the first to issue licenses to test autonomous technology. More recently, the federal government has announced guidelines for autonomous vehicles that can be used throughout the United States. Korea is also planning to establish a special zone for autonomous vehicles, led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. However, it is unfortunate that the world’s fifth-largest automobile producer is so slow to embrace this important future industry. The U.S. federal government’s guidelines will go a long way in helping Korea quickly prepare for the autonomous vehicle era.
While the commercialization and widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles will depend on many factors, current projections suggest that fully autonomous vehicles (Level 5) will not be available until at least 2035. This is because more time is needed to address technical, regulatory, and safety issues. Autonomous vehicles are a fascinating technology, and if utilized properly, they could significantly improve the quality of life for busy people. However, if we embrace the technology without adequate societal discussion, legislation, and safety validation, it will lead to social conflict. We are 10 years away from 2035, and technology advances rapidly. Let’s hope that in the remaining time, our society can prepare enough for autonomous vehicles to make life easier for everyone.
